Lavins Fruit and Veg Ltd. has certainly come a long way since it was established by Eamon Lavin and his wife Mary in 1986. Now employing 46 people and with a fleet of 17 vehicles on the road, this outstanding family business continues to experience impressive growth. We dropped into their Breaffy base to take a closer look at this exceptional operation.
From the humblest of beginnings, Lavins Fruit and Veg Ltd. has developed into the premier fruit and veg wholesaler in Connacht, as well as supplying prepared vegetables into the catering trade – restaurants, hospitals, schools etc. – across the province. By any standards, this is an astonishing success story: from what started as a one man operation growing and selling his own vegetables, founder Eamon Lavin now heads up a thriving operation that continues to grow at an encouraging rate.
This has been achieved by sourcing and supplying quality produce at the right price, ensuring that customers are taken care of. Also, the Lavins have never been afraid to move with the times and add new lines and products. To this end, they’ve just introduced a new organic range of produce which is readily available to the public through their busy retail outlet located on Shop Street, Westport. A wide range of exotics is also available in addition to any fruit and vegetable that one could care to mention plus a whole host of other healthy produce.
Let’s take a look back at the genesis of this self-made business…
At the age of 17, Eamon Lavin took his first job with Western Farming Co-op, which looked after pigs and raised piglets. He worked here for 17 years, during which time he bought a 17-acre farm in Keelouges Ballyvary (in 1977). As he had no money to stock the land, he decided to set an acre of carrots on the land. He sold a lot of these as dirty carrots to local butchers and shops and then had an idea that he could sell the remainder of his stock as washed carrots.
Thus, he cleaned a cement mixer he owned and fitted a grid into it to segregate the carrots from the dirt. He washed the carrots in the cement mixer and sold his washed carrots to local shops and butchers. Shortly afterwards, Eamon was made redundant from his job in the co-op and it was then he decided to go into the fruit and vegetable business, selling the family car and starting literally from scratch.
Eamon bought a van and his first load of fruit and vegetables in Galway and sourced some potato growers in County Meath. He enjoyed a healthy growth in the business for a few years. However, the introduction of large multinational supermarkets saw a decrease in sales to the local shops and businesses and Eamon knew he would need to reinvent the wheel in order to survive. This is when he decided to focus on the prepared vegetable sector…
With just his family by his side, he started to peel potatoes, carrots and other vegetables. The business grew from strength to strength. In 1986, Eamon secured a contract with the HSE to supply all the hospitals in the Mayo area, a contract he proudly still holds to this day, but now supplying the whole Mayo / Galway / Roscommon area.
As time went by, Eamon purchased the land around his home and developed the business site into an impressive one-acre site of preparation rooms, wholesale store and offices in the shadow of the windmill erected in 2012.
In 2013, Lavins Fruit and Veg Ltd. acquired a local rival company, retaining all the staff and customers. Eamon believed that combining the two companies would provide his customers new and old with a better value service – something he is constantly working on. He also retained the greengrocer shop situated in the beautiful town of Westport.
It’s very much a family affair at Lavins Fruit and Veg with Eamon’s wife Mary at the helm of the business. The next generation have their sights set on the future; sons Thomas and Michael and daughter Marilyn are always looking for new lines and suppliers to push the business forward. Lavins Fruit and Veg now employees 46 people and they have a fleet of 15 Mercedes Sprinter vans and two Scania lorries.
Offering a seven-days-a-week service to a customer base of 400, Eamon understands the needs of his customers and realises that the services sector relies on this level of service in order to operate efficiently.
Lavins Fruit and Veg specialises in prepared vegetables, preparing vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, cabbage, swedes and also producing vegetable mixes such as stirfry mixes and soup mixes. Mixes and products can be prepared to customer specifications if required. Lavins are currently producing 24 tons of potatoes on a weekly basis. All of their prepared vegetables are prepared and distributed on the same day, guaranteeing the freshest, and best-quality produce to all of their customers.
The preparation room is managed under the highest hygiene standards incorporating the H.A.C.C.P system designed and developed specifically for Lavins. This is reflected in the quality of the produce and was commended recently by Sodexho, scoring a respectable 98% in an audit carried out by Sodexho’s own Quality Managers.
Lavins Fruit and Veg also supplies a wide range of whole vegetables, fruits and exotics. Eamon’s son Thomas is the purchasing manager: sourcing as much as possible from local growers, Thomas also imports the highest quality fruit and vegetables from all over Europe.
Recognising the benefits of organic fruit, vegetables and other products, Thomas has sourced the finest quality organic produce, which is now available to purchase in the Country Fresh shop on Shop Street, Westport. The shop has undergone a completed overhaul to coincide with the introduction of the organic fruit and vegetables Eamon has also introduced other lines including Baldwin & Co health supplements; Super foods such as wheat grass, Bee pollen and Chlorella; seeds such as Chia seeds, Gojo Berries, linseed and flax seeds; grains and cereals such as quinoa, couscous, amaranth and buckwheat; oils such as avocado oil, coconut oil, argan oil, linseed oil and olive oil.
Looking to the future, Eamon believes that more jobs can be created in the west of Ireland. He believes that the west boasts the finest land in the country and that it can be utilised better. He would like to encourage local growers to produce more, pack and distribute on site. He is a firm believer in shop local, buy local and keeping local employment.
Eamon would like to take this opportunity to thank all of his loyal customers who have stuck with him throughout the year, and he looks forward to the future.
Lavin’s Fruit & Veg Ltd.
Keelcoil,
Breaffy,
Castlebar,
County Mayo.
Telephone: 094 9023238
Fax: 094 9023564
Email: [email protected]
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 3 No 5, June 2015
